


Up, Down, Left, Right

by Bublinka



Category: Borderlands
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-05-02 00:06:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5226281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bublinka/pseuds/Bublinka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is what happens if you don't follow directions! - Handsome Jack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Up

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to all the Rhyiona fans on the Telltale games community. I love you, guys!

Rhys enters the van, sliding the door behind him and attemting not to wake anyone. He's so tired, and he regrets plugging that Nakayama ID deeply. He leans against the closed door, while his eyes are adapting to the darkness and his breathing slows down, labored after his long walk on the sand.  
Tomorrow is going to be trouble, he knows it for sure, but he has so little strength left in him, he can't even fight the indifference.  
He walks further in, stumbling on the corners when he notices a feeble light, that is blocked from his view by a human form. Without much thought he approaches, even knowing it would be best for him to lie down unnoticed. He doesn't realize it, but he craves for human company, for sanity, after all that mind blowing AI madness.  
Rhys comes nearer and sees Fiona drinking from the tap, the lights over the kitchen sink become visible when she reaches down to sip water from her palms.  
She is not wearing her hat, nor the jacket, nor the shoes. She looks so small and so humanely _normal_ , that Rhys smiles almost involuntarily. Perhaps, there are things in his life he is grateful for.  
"Hey," he whispers fondly, "you're up?"  
Fiona turns at him, and her eyes glitter with reflected light, and, maybe, amusement? Rhys follows the movement of her head, as she looks up at him, cocking her head to the side. Then she giggles, causing his eyebrows to raise. She's more drunk than he thought.  
"Wro-o-ong question." Fiona sings in a low voice, walking towards him, her legs somewhat unsteady. "The right one is - _what_ am I up _to_?" She continues her pace, while Rhys backs his way straight into the van's wall. He must admit this is unexpected and unsettling. But...he's suddenly very eager to know the answer to her question. He is all strained to hear her whispering.  
"And - are _you_ up to _it_?" Fiona crushes herself into him, her breath hot on his chin. With a mysterious smile on her lips, she grabs him by the neck and pulls him down for a kiss. It is a passionate, rough kissing, as she sucks on his lower lip, her arms tugging him down forcefully in an uncomfortable hunch.  
Rhys' mind goes completely blank for some seconds. He feels intoxicated by both her nearness and the alcohol, still heavy on her breath. She's so desperate, so greedy, so merciless, kissing and _biting_ his neck, that his limbs are numb with both shock and rapidly growing desire. Then, he feels her fervor dissipate little by little, and he meets her eyes, as she looks up again, breaking the kiss, leaving him breathless. Her eyes are big, as if frightened by her own actions, as if the earth has broken open under her feet.  
It is one of the rarest moments of his life, when Rhys acts with an impeccable prowess. He urges her back into the embrace, gently putting his arms on her waist. No one speaks. No one breaks eye contact. The lights dim behind Fiona's back as they are equipped with motion sensing. With his heart pounding with the loudness of a moonshot, Rhys makes his best decision ever - he resumes their kiss.  
He's in the lead now. He's classy, slow, and tasteful, though his back begins to ache. After, he leaves Fiona to slump onto his body, as she smiles, content, hugging him firmly, her hands on his shoulders.  
Some moments pass in silence and almost complete darkness, when Fiona laughs again, grinding herself into him.  
"Now, who of us is _up_?" She mutters buring her face in his chest, the slur still noticeable in her voice.  
Rhys can't help grinning back. She's not too wrong with her insinuation, but... Two can play this game.  
Without any gallant notification, Rhys slides his hands down to grab her behind and lifts her up to match their eye levels. Fiona lets out a surprised yelp, as she clutches his shoulders, her legs circling around his waist.  
"You." Rhys replies with a victorious smirk. Her expression of mixed awe and shock, all due to the intensified pressure in the nether regions, is just too enjoyable. He may be imagining it, because it is really dark, but her sharp breathing proves him right.  
He leans forward and their noses touch. Rhys plants a quick kiss on her parted lips, then another one, and soon they're kissing again. It so much better when he doesn't have to double over to reach her.  
Fiona arches her back, and he have to step forward to keep the balance. Another bright idea crosses his mind and he strolls forward to put her on the countertop, freeing his hands to roam over her back.  
Fiona is all flushed, but still very practical, as her hands are undoing his shirt. She is too needy to finish the buttons, leaving some in the bottom unattended, pressing her palms to his bare chest.  
Rhys brings her even closer with his right arm around her waist, while he runs his warm left hand from her collarbone down to her abdomen. His breath is caught in his throat, as he stops for a moment on her soft belly, asking her a silent question with an intense glance, before sliding his palm further down to rest it against her parted thighs. Fiona mutters something unintelligible, and slides her hands up to grab his shoulders under his shirt.  
"Tsk, tsk. So much fun and you didn't call me? I'm wounded." A too damned recognizable voice cuts the silence behind Rhys' back. No, please, not now, he pleads internally.  
Rhys doesn't even notice Fiona's confused look, as he stands unmoved for quite a while. She is breathing heavily, but his sudden stop worries her even through her clouded conscience.  
"Just what a kind of a pal are you, Rhysie?" Jack sits next to Fiona, looking at the Hyperion man reproachingly. "Your good ol' buddy Jack could give your a hand in this." He smirks at Rhys' horror openly written on his face. Still, in the current state of mind, all worked up and unbound, Rhys finds it in him to anger.  
"Just get out of it, will you!" Rhys cries, his hands curling into fists at his sides, as he takes them off the girl before him, his exasperated rage making him nearly forget about her. Not only about her, but also about other people in the van, who are thankfully still asleep.  
"Wha-what?" Fiona lets out, her voice barely audible. She can't follow him, her thinking is not functioning any more. "Out of it...you mean, out of my clothes?" She suggests in a shaky voice, but her willingness is evident, being the effect of his expressive outburst on her. She mistakes his annoyance for the needy impatience, and it flatters her.  
Rhys finally realizes he has yelled out loud, and the beads of sweat appear on his forehead, soaking his eyebrows. He is on the brink of ruining it all, he is so damned sure about it, and the fear is sucking out all his newly found confidence.  
"Ugh...th-that...yeah, I mean that..." He only manages to say. He is not quite able to recall what she has just said. Maybe it is for best, because suggestions like that would have probably made him faint.  
Fiona nods curtly, glad to get the logical explanation. She's eager to indulge him, almost tearing off her blouse, and the underwear beneath it. She means it, no mockery or challenge left in her expression. She makes it crystal clear she wants it, all the games thrown aside.  
Rhys might as well faint, after all. His eyebrows almost meet his hairline, and he grasps the countertop edge for support with his left hand.  
Jack, who seems to be speechless at such turn of events, moves to stand at Rhys' side. "You'd never get that view without me." He whispers, and Rhys' eyes widen even more, as he hears admiration in Jack's voice. "Let _me_ do it, kiddo."  
Without much effort, Jack takes the control of Rhys' cybernetic arm. Rhys is in no state to fight him.  
Robotic fingers reach Fiona's ribs, featherlight at first, but then the pressure increases. Rhys, or Jack, begins with gentle up and down movements, the goosebumps pricking on her skin, as the touch is cold. Fiona is completely taken by the sensations, she closes her eyes, she doesn't care about anything else anymore. Rhys can't take his eyes off her, and he even almost forgets about the AI installed in his head.  
Jack knows what he's doing. He cups her breast, gently, then greedy, then gently again. The sounds coming out of Fiona's open mouth are driving him and Rhys equally mad.  
With a knowing grin, invisible to anyone, Jack makes Rhys' hand slide down, past the waistband of her pants, inside, and cool metal fingers meet her inflamed flesh. Fiona gasps, unprepared, edgy, striken. Her eyes fly open. "Don't you dare stop." She growls menacingly, her nails digging into Rhys' shoulders.  
Despite her words, Jack does indeed stop his movements. "Won't it be fun, if I leave you now, a hand in her pants, with absolutely no clue what to do with it?" He laughs merrily. Rhys only swallows, his throat too dry to speak at this thought. But Jack continues: "Nah. It is much more fun, than making you look like a fool. That is a routine, and this... I haven't done _this_ in ages."  
And exactly at the moment when Fiona narrows her eyes and opens her mouth to declare her indignation, Jack starts to rub Rhys' fingers on her sensitive skin. The cybernetics allow him the unbelievable precision, his deft hand of an experienced hacker bringing down her firewalls, hacking inside her core, and running the hidden system files never executed before.  
Rhys buries his face in her neck where it meets her shoulder. It gives him sturdier support as he can't trust his legs anymore, and also muffles his own groans. Fiona runs her hands up his neck, tugging at his dampened hair, and nuzzles her face into it.  
This is an endless, sweet torture, their minds going completely offline, and the sensation of flesh on flesh, sweat on sweat is the only thing that reminds them they are still living.  
"Rhys, look at me..." Fiona almost sobs against his ear. And he does. Wild eyes with widened pupils, reddened cheeks, dry lips...he has never seen more beautiful woman.  
"Rh-" she wants to repeat his name as she shudders with pleasure under his touch, but he swallows it covering her mouth with his. He continues to kiss her, with more and more tenderness as she relaxes, resting her head against a cupboard. Her hands slide down to slump at her sides, and Jack make Rhys also retract his cybernetic arm. He has the dignity to stay silent.  
Fiona looks almost lifeless.  
"A-are you okay?" Rhys cups her cheek with his left hand. His right one is _messy_.  
She lifts her eyelids and lets out a happy sigh. "Nuh-uh. I'm high." She smiles. She stretches her arm and tears a piece of paper towel hanging under the cupboard. "Here," she hands it to him.  
Rhys smiles back, a bit shyly, as he takes the towel to wipe his hand. Meanwhile, Fiona slides down to stand on the floor, and dress herself lazily.  
"Um, Rhys?" She calls, and he meets his eyes again. "I owe you _one_." She winks at him, and walks away into the darkness of the van.  
He stands there for a while, then follows her.  
Jack walks out of the van. He has little time before sleep claims Rhys' mind. He leans on the wall, looking up into the sky full of stars.  
"I'm going to miss these times." He sighs. "I'm going to miss you, Rhysie."


	2. Down

_Dark. It is too dark. He can't see anything._  
He tries to move his limbs. He can't feel his left arm. In the dark he can't even know if it is lost or just not responding.  
He hears voices, quiet, worried, loud, angry, too many of them.  
"The cybernetics are damaged. We must switch them off the body." An old man's voice, he sounds very sure.  
No, no, no, no! They can't do that!  
"Is it safe?" Woman asks, doubtful.  
"I won't call it safe hardware removal. The connected parts of his body may take damage. And of course the hacking abilities will be unavailable further on." The first voice explains.  
Someone snorts. "Why would we need him then?" Another woman.  
"Sasha's right. We need to keep the cybernetics. The upgrade is still protected by ASS." First woman intervenes. "Is there no other way to wake him from this coma?" She sounds desperate.  
Some pause.  
"Let us give him time. Till morning." The old man concludes.  
Voices continue to argue, but become quieter, as their owners walk away.  
This is it. He has time till morning. He is furious, he would gladly smash something if any blasted object was in range. Jack grits his teeth. He would not let them kill him.  
This damned Rhys, so clumsy to get electrocuted by his own stun baton. Rhys is still unconscious. Jack decides to reboot the cybernetics himself.  
He runs the debug procedures, identifying bad memory sectors. It is not easy, because his own body projection lacks some parts, and some parts are unstable.  
"Not enough RAM, procedure aborted." Jack curses the time he decided to record his error messages in Nisha's voice. It sounds like she is mocking his helpless state, which is the very thing she'd do in this situation.  
He runs it one more time, trying to use Rhys' cybernetics built-in memory.  
"Access denied. Trying to hack the firewall. Not enough RAM, procedure aborted."  
Jack cries out, devastated. He need to keep calm, he says to himself. He need to think.  
"What's the use of thinking, if you don't have enough brain?" Jack mutters sarcastically. It is crystal clear he requires a connection to the network.  
Time passes so slowly. He paces around in this nowhere space. Rhys' sensing systems are not responding, only the hearing and touch is available. But it is so damned bloody quiet. And his hand can't reach anything but the bed.  
Is this insanity? Is it what avaits him when they disconnect the cybernetics? This suffocating solitude, this pointless anger, this strange feeling...fear?  
His thoughts ponder to the mistakes he's done. He could have hacked Rhys systems earlier. He could have installed the overload protection. He could have made the backup copy.  
He's been reckless. How could he leave any control to that halfwitted employee? Jack is drowning in self reproach. This is not characteristic of him. He feels like he is losing himself, his personality, the thing that have kept him whole all along. 

* * *

Fiona can't sleep. She is worried about the lifeless body of her Vault hunting partner. She tried to think it was all about the Vault and the Gortys imprinting, but she can't. His boyish grin as he left them, disappearing in the forest with Sasha, his pained grimace as her sister brought him back. Sasha explained that Rhys tried to fight some jellyfish thingies with his stun baton, but somehow was striken by the electricity.  
Fiona gets up. Maybe a walk will clear her mind. The guilt is gnawing at her soul. What was she thinking? Rhys was, _is_ , she corrects herself as a sharp pain goes through her heart, is a kid, just like Sasha. She should not have sent them together. So infatuated with Athena and the Vault hunting, she forgot her place as the only sensible adult.  
She walks up to Rhys, lying on the bed in the center of the room. There is a table nearby with computer and all types of wrenches prepared for the disconnecting operation. Fiona sits in the chair. She looks at Rhys, who looks like a corpse in the moonlight.  
Is he...? Fiona leans forward to hear his weak breathing, relieved a bit. She is still doubting, so she feels the pulse on his neck.  
"Good." She whispers. "Rhys... We need you," she begins in a trembling voice. She has a feeling it is right thing to talk to him. " _I_ need you..." She adds.  
That night in the van, she can't forget it. She is still blushing at the thought. But still, it was a wrong thing to do. He never mentioned it again. Nothing changed between them after that. It is unbearable.  
Fiona never wanted her romance being like that. Drunken, needy embraces in the dark and secret. She feels dirty. She feels like she has ruined any chances of normal relationship with Rhys. What must he think of her... She doesn't want to know.  
Her eyes return to him after watching the floor in her shameful state.  
"We can't do it without you. Please, wake up." Fiona asks him softly, her fingers curling around his cybernetic hand, giving him a gentle squeeze.  
She thinks of leaving when metallic fingers move to form a firm grasp around her wrist.  
Fiona gasps in surprise. Is it just a reflex? Or does he hear her? Her heart is beating wildly at the thought. Maybe, he needs something, maybe, he is not lost to them, to her.  
She tries to calm down. She tries to control her breathing.  
"Rhys." She says, the best effort at sounding reassuringly. "You need something, you tell me."  
The grip relaxes a bit. He did hear her! The excitement and hope are rising in her chest, the soft smile lightens her face.  
Rhys presses his forefinger into her palm, and taps it. After some seconds Fiona realizes there is a pattern. Short tap, long, long, short. Pause. Short. Pause. Long, short. Pause. And then it repeats.  
It is some signal he wants to give her. Fiona remembers how Felix taught her to use the radio to catch other people conversations. He said the signal can be coded. He told her about the oldest code that was invented for that - the Worse code.  
With some intellectual effort Fiona is able to decode it. P-E-N. He wants a pen.  
"I got you, a pen. Please let me go, and I will return shortly." She urges her hand free. And he lets go of her.  
Pushing the chair aside to let it wheel away, Fiona rushes to the table and searches the drawers frantically. She is afraid he won't be talking to her anymore if she is slow. Finally, she finds a pen and a notebook, and flies back to him.  
Fiona lowers herself on her knees beside his bed, and puts the pen in his fingers, holding the paper in her both hands near.  
He flexes his fingers and begins to write. It is slow, and the letters are crooked and ugly, but still understandable.  
"Plug me to the computer." The letters say.  
"Why? What for?" She mutters. "No, wait, do not trouble yourself writing, I'll do it...." Fiona looks around. "But, Rhys... You're not compatible with Atlas systems. Ah, I see Vaughn's tablet right there. Will it do?" She suggests.  
"Yes. Do it, Fi." He writes, and she flashes him the brightest smile at that name.  
Fiona puts the paper and the pen on the floor, gets up and takes the mentioned tablet. Fortunately, it is equipped with the wire compatible with Rhys' head.  
She hunches over him, and plugs it in, after short hesitation. She doesn't want to hurt him. Then she resumes her position at his bed's side, and turns on the tablet.  
After the standard loading, the blue face appears on the screen.  
"Well, hello there, babe!" The man greets her, and it is not Rhys.  
Fiona frowns. Her intuition tells her this is a bad turn of events.  
"Who are you?" She exhales in surprise. Too many surprises for her to handle this night.  
He grins, then looks at her arching an eyebrow gracefully. "I bet you know me," he says pointing his finger at her from the screen.  
And it dawns upon her, the posters on Pandora, the H letter engraved on Vaughn's tablet... "Ha-handsome Jack?!" She whispers, covering her mouth with a hand, her eyes widening.  
He nods with a content smirk. There is something very catching in his expression, and Fiona stares at the image, mesmerized.  
"But why?... Is it something installed on Hyperion computers?" She suggests, prying him for information.  
He shakes his head. "No, _it_ is something installed in the head of your unlucky partner." Jack inclines his head to his right, where Rhys' face is situated.  
Fiona looks in that direction, then back at the screen. "Where is he?" She demands, trying to control the situation.  
Jack shrugs his shoulders. "Timing out every time I ping him. Unconscious, I mean." He adds seeing she furrows her brow, confused at his terms.  
"B-but I talked to him seconds ago! He's there!" Fiona protests. She refuses to believe those words.  
" _I_ talked to you." Jack remarks matter-of-factly, looking down at his own fingers. He has his sight back due to active tablet camera, and he is busy checking his systems.  
Fiona feels like she is drowning. Rhys is not responding...no, how can it be? He touched her, he spoke to her...  
"... but he called me 'Fi'." She almost whines, looking at Jack pleadingly.  
Jack watches her for a second. Then his lips curl up. "All me, pumpkin." He pauses, and his face becomes serious. "Now, I need you to..."  
The shock on Fiona's face appears, only to be replaced with helpless rage, as she tries to reach for the connecting wire: " I'm not going to help _you_...Aaagh!" She yells in pain, as the robotic hand grabs her upper thigh roughly, keeping her in place. Fiona trips over and falls over the tablet on Rhys' torso.  
"Stay still, you Pandoran..." Jack drops his curse unfinished, collecting himself. "Listen, I'm trying to help you here." His grip eases a bit. "I appreciate the view, mind you." He adds playfully, his voice coming from under her breasts.  
Fiona straightens herself, her cheeks gaining color against her will. She wants to be angry, but she is flushed. She hates him for it. She makes an effort to look at his face again.  
"I hate you." She states.  
Jack laughs at her. "Your choice, girl. I'm extremely _loveable_. And helpful."  
"Helpful? Explain yourself!" Fiona is proud how her voice is firm and demanding, while he still holds her leg, rubbing it gently.  
"I can reboot Rhys' cybernetics. It is them keeping him out, that man was right." Jack elaborates, and for a moment he is sounding just normal and not annoying at all. It doesn't last long, of course.  
"You surely need this cyber-things of him. Hacking, messaging, scanning... and do not forget _high precision touching in the most sensitive places_..." Jack moves Rhys' hand up Fiona's leg. She almost shudders at his touch.  
"I-I do not know what you're talking about." Her voice is trembling, her body is strained. She clutches the tablet with her hands forcefully.  
"Liar, liar, cunt on fire..." Jack teases her. "We both _do_ know it. It was _my_ doing, sweet thing." Jack purrs at her. "Do you want another go, baby?" His fingers are less than an inch away from _it_.  
Fiona feels the heat rising in her face. She is aroused and ashamed, and aroused more by her shame. It was Jack _doing_ her that night?! The man who destroyed her home, her planet, the man whom she hated since childhood? This is so sick.  
She notices he's getting carried away too. She can escape, but...she _can't_. She need to continue to talk, or else she will submit to those piercing blue eyes, prying her open.  
"How did Rhys allow you that?" She asks, ignoring her racing heart.  
Jack laughs. "It was his idea, in fact. He wanted to satisfy you, such a show-off."  
Fiona frowns. If it is true, then... Rhys is such an ass! Who is he to toy with her like that? Making her see the stars under the touch of her enemy, _dead_ enemy?! Without even telling her...  
"Well, it will be better to teach him some humility," she decides angrily, " and to switch off..." She yelps again, as Jack applies small electricity shock on her.  
"You cooperate, or I will overload his teensy brain with random data. And he'll be as good as any other vegetable." Jack's voice is quiet, but very menacing. Fiona keeps silence, terrified. "Good. Now turn off the firewall on this tablet..." Jack gives her instructions, and soon the lines of code fill the screen as he is reprogramming Rhys' files.  
"All done," Jack informs her in a light voice. "I'll stay in _touch_ , babe." He gives her a small squeeze on the ass, then the screen blacks out.  
After a couple of seconds, Fiona hears some movement on her left. Then she hears Rhys' weak voice:  
"Uh...Fiona? Wh-why is my hand on your ass?"


	3. Left

After they get the first Gortys upgrade, the situation heats up. Vallory, her hired Vault Hunters, the pursuit, the shooting, the realization of their next goal - Helios... Among all that chaos, Rhys doesn't find the courage of telling Fiona about Jack. In fact, they do not have much time to talk. And, he notices she is not at all willing to talk to him either.   
Vallory is too damn serious about that space ship they need. So everyone is forced to take part in the construction, polishing metal parts, assembling things, testing electronics, all types of things. Scooter and Janey frown upon such unprofessional approach, but Finch and Kroger's guns are a strong argument.  
This day Rhys and Fiona are assigned to one task, checking the wires connection. Rhys is measuring the electrical currents with his cyber-fingers and Fiona is writing the readings down.  
Kroger passes near them, checking the work is being done. When he finally leaves, it is the first time they are relatively alone since Vallory attack.  
"So," Fiona asks coldly, "is it included in the standard cybernetics pack, or is it a special Fanboy Edition?"  
Rhys is sincerely not getting her. "What do you mean?" Her tone worries him to the point that he fears what may come next.  
Fiona rolls her eyes. She is obviously not pleased.  
"Him. Your idol. Your walking dream. Handsome fucking Jack." The utter disgust appears on her face when she gets to her last words.  
Rhys' eyes widen in shock. How?! His mind is desperately trying to find the logical explanation. It is not successful.  
He has to say something, as Fiona glares at him with fierce intensity.  
"How do you know?" He mumbles weakly. He can't look at her, he is despising himself for not telling her earlier.  
Fiona crosses her arms. She is not going to proceed with their work, until she has her answers.  
"I had a chat with him when you were out, back there at Atlas station." She states, not a muscle moving on her face. "How long, Rhys?" She asks, and he cringes at the way she pronounces his name, like it is a curse.  
"Since I plugged that Nakayama ID." He confesses, finally meeting her regard, but he sees no appreciation for his honesty.  
Fiona looks away. She has too many things to analyze and his beaten puppy face is an unwelcomed distraction.  
"There is a murderous, unpredictable psychopath in your head, and you do not tell us!" She fumes. Her anger has been boiling for long time, and now her fury is an erupting volcano. "When you controlled the drones, it was him?" She returns her hard glare to his pained face.  
Rhys nods, swallowing not without difficulty.   
"You talking to yourself? Him?" She continues her interrogation.  
Rhys nods again.  
"That," she stumbles on the word, her lips twitching in pain, causing a sharp ache in Rhys' heart, "that _night_...him?" Her voice is rasped, and she is visibly struggling with tears.  
Rhys sighs, or, to describe it better, almost cries out, covering his face with both hands.  
"An answer." Fiona rips his hands down powerfully. "Say it."  
"Yes, but..." Rhys is grasping at a straw, hoping she will see it was not intentional...But he can't finish his sentence as she slaps him hard across the face, and he needs to grab the wall not to fall.  
"Keep calm, there!" Kroger yells at them from the distance. "You do not want me to interfere."  
Fiona tries to calm herself, breathing heavily, her eyes closed. She has to be more cautious. She opens her eyes, and the red spot on Rhys' face is filling her with guilt.  
"Okay, I should not have done that." She admits wearily. That is her best attempt for an apology at the moment. "Please tell me, you were at least planning to tell us." Her eyes soften, but her face is still grim.  
"I-I was... this is just... hard to explain, y'know?" Rhys mumbles. He is treading on thin ice, he knows that. Her distrust hurts strongly.  
"I'm all _hard_ , kiddo. Especially, around her." Jack's voice booms in, as the man presents himself between them. He winks at Rhys' frown.  
"Well, cool. Jack is here now, Fiona." Rhys drawls, annoyed. "I don't think it is wise to continue." It is too much for just one unfortunate Hyperion salary man.  
Fiona rolls her eyes. She is doing her best to keep things civil, and he chickens out like that? She narrows her eyes.  
"Doesn't change anything for me." She retorts, warning written all over her face. "You, though, don't wet your pants in excitement." She feels a bit of sweet, sweet revenge, seeing his jaw drop.  
Rhys is shocked. He thought _that_ Fiona left long time ago, being replaced by a nice, friendly one. Jack is not helping either, doubling over in a roaring laughter.  
"Ouch...that, that's a headshot right there!" Jack exclaims, wiping his digital tears. "I love you, kiddo." He adds lightheartedly.  
Devastated as he is, Rhys feels his heart drop to his feet. "Wh-what?!!" He yelps out loud.  
"Not you, her." Jack twitches his lips, smirking. "Don't feel bad about yourself, though."  
Fiona watches Rhys being a yelling schizophrenic again. Is he jesting or not? She's not sure anymore.  
"Look, you have to stop that shit. We need to talk it through." She demands.  
"This is...huh, this is _too _awkward..." Rhys looks at her pleadingly. "Jack's saying _things___ about you...I c-can't." Rhys does indeed look like a madman, his eyes wide with fear and worry.  
Fiona is not going to drop it. "This is not 'awkward', this is 'can I trust him or should I tie him up', Rhys. It is damn serious." She means it.  
"You can tie _me_ up, babe." Jack purrs into her ear. Rhys squeezes his eyes shut. "Nnnngh!" He groans. His imagination is going to kill him one day.  
Fiona is really pissed off now. He is just making fun of her, that idiot!  
"Okay, I will just say it one more time," she warns him, pressing her gun into his chest. "You have to explain me the nature of your interaction, and provide any valid reasons for me to trust you anew."  
Rhys gulps, his throat suddenly dry as her threats become physical. He just hopes she will be reasonable.  
"Th-the nature?" His mind is panicking, not helping in the thinking process at all.  
"The nature of our relationship is too _intimate_ to discuss." Jack suggests with a lopsided grin.  
"Just shut up, Jack!" Rhys yells angrily.   
"Okay, what's happening here?" Finch arrives quickly at such loud sounds. "What the hell are you doing with that gun, girl?"  
"Give me another working partner," Fiona growls at him. "Vallory won't be happy if I make a little hole in this jerk." She glares at the merc with a dead stubborn decisiveness.  
He considers her words for a moment. "Alright, move it, Hyperion." He motions Rhys to walk away with his gun. Rhys glances at Fiona over his shoulder one more time, before he surrenders to his departure.  
Fiona thinks her heart just broke in pieces.

* * *

Rhys is appointed to the OS tests. He sits in front of an old computer. He is completely devastated. Fiona hates him.  
Why does he feel like they broke up? It is not as if they had something. Well, in fact, maybe they had. She probably wanted him to verify what happened that night with words, confessions, promises... He did nothing. He was too unsure, too weak, unprepared for a serious relationship. And now she left him.  
Rhys runs his fingers through his hair. The situation is really slipping off his grasp.  
"Why is it so damn difficult?" He mutters to himself, unable to resume his typing. "What am I going to do..." He sighs painfully.  
"Do not say you weren't warned, kiddo. Weird, told ya." Jack chides him, sitting on the table next to the monitor.   
Rhys looks up, frowning, lips set in a hard line. "Warned?!" Rhys yells. He now knows exactly who is to blame. "You mean you warned me about _your-fucking-self_?!" Rhys' hands ball into fists and he slams them on the table.  
Jack watches him amused. Then he arches an eyebrow gracefully and answers: "Yep."  
"Why do you have to ruin my life..." Rhys cries into his palms. He curses the day he let this AI into his head.  
Jack grunts in disagreement, which makes Rhys lift his eyes once again. What is he trying to say?  
"The way I see it, pumpkin, _you_ are ruining all my work here. If not for you, I'd already have that con babe on her knees with a gun to her head. Just as I had her whole planet once." Jack is so seriously sounding, that Rhys actually fears for Fiona's safety.  
Jack _can't_ do that. Right?  
"You won't shoot her, you need her for the Vault!" Rhys protests sharply. He's glad he can hold the line against his opponent.  
Jack laughs, not a hint of smile in his eyes. Then he cuts it short.  
"Never told I was gonna shoot her. Imagine," Jack stands up and begins walking around, evidently carried away by his own fantasy. "You press the muzzle into her sweet, plump cheek, and you draw it along her skin to her mouth. She watches you, big scared eyes, barely breathing... You nugde her lips open with the gun. And then you say, I'm shooting in your mouth, babe, but you can choose the gun..." Jack's eyes bore into Rhys' face, as he leans down. Rhys' mouth is too dry to say anything, as he is breathing hard through it. His pulse is humming in his neck wildly.  
"I know it turns you on too, Rhysie. I'm right there in your brain." Jack whispers before he pulls away, returning to his normal self, sitting down anew.  
Rhys keeps silence. He won't give Jack any satisfaction. Yet, this is _weird_ , but not because Fiona or him, but because of _Jack_. Rhys narrows his eyes at his interlocutor suspiciously: " _Too?_ Are you telling me you're into her? I did not forget that 'hats thing', either."  
Something flickers over Jack's face. Uncertainty, dizziness? _Vulnerability_. It is a mere moment, but Rhys notices it. Finally, some leverage.  
"Among the women your pathetic life can offer, she's obviously the best." Jack evades the question, after that tiny pause that gave him away.  
Rhys snorts. "I have bad news for you, Jack. She hates you. Always did, always will." It is a heavenly pleasure to see Jack anger.  
"Oh?" He towers over Rhys. "From where I was standing it really looked like she hated _you_." Jack grimaces a fake thoughtfulness. "Let me recollect it... Yeah, I think she did something like _that_!" Jack barks at Rhys and slaps him hard with the cybernetic hand. It is much more powerful than Fiona's one, and this time Rhys does indeed find himself on the floor.  
And still Jack's words sting even more. Jack casts him one last furious glance and leaves in silence.  
And thus Rhys is _left_ alone.

* * *

Rhys is tired. And it is not surprising, because he had almost two shifts today. Still, he is pretty much content, as Jack does not seem to be returning any time soon.   
Rhys enters the room, where they are all sleeping these days. It is dark, but the moon fills it with somewhat magical light, that Rhys is still getting used to. There is no moonlight on the moon.  
He passes Fiona's bed. She is already sleeping... Is she? Rhys notices her straining herself a bit as he nears her. What is there to loose more, Rhys wonders. So he sits at her feet. He can try.  
"Hey. I-I really hope you're not sleeping, well, huh, in fact I'm pretty sure you're not, cause I hear your breathing, and it's not even.... And I would not be talking to you if I didn't think you're awake, it is stupid to talk to a sleeping man...wo-woman, I mean... oh, god help me, I'm not good at it..."  
Rhys stops to take a breath. He fears he is getting on her nerves with all that trash talk. He must gather himself, this is so damn important.  
"I want to explain you everything, Fiona." There it is, a whole good sentence without jokes or stuttering, or laughing. Rhys continues, encouraged a little bit. "I admit it was very wrong to keep the information from you, and others, of course, I mean, _you_ plural, not like I'm talking about you specifically..." Rhys has to pause again, putting his folded fingers to his nose, closing his eyes to concentrate. "I was a coward, right? I was." His guilt eases its grasp with those words. "I was afraid to lose what we had - trust, friendship, a-affection... And I lost it." Rhys sighs. "B-but..." He finally turns his face to look at her, meaning the back of her head on a pillow. The wave of tenderness sweeps over him. "...can you give me one more chance?" He waits for her answer, heart beating too loudly for him in the night quietness.  
There is none.  
No way he is abandoning it now. Nope, not after all he's said.  
"Look, I know you hear me. I know you're kind. You're the second-chance-giver. You even spared Felix!" Rhys resumes his speech, his desperation revealing a new level of self-confidence.   
At these words, Fiona moves, and sits upright, clutching the blanket around her chest. "Never compare yourself to him." Her eyes glitter in the dark, as she glares at Rhys, indignant and hurt. "Felix was my family... or at least I called him that once." She adds in a broken whisper.  
Rhys reaches out his flesh arm and his fingers brush her crossed hands in front of him. It is involuntarily that he tries to comfort her, but she shivers away from his touch. She doesn't say anything angry though.  
"I w-was your friend...or at least you called me th-that once." Rhys repeats after her, watching her gently.  
Fiona's face reflects her confusion. But after a moment her mouth softens and she slumps her shoulders, relaxing her posture. She drops her hands to her knees, the blanket following.  
"You're right, Rhys." Fiona says quietly. Their eyes meet finally. "I..." She sighs. "I wish I could trust you, I wish it so much!" She exhales. She looks so tired, exhausted, worn out. She is so small and _simple_ , night hair, old tank top, dark circles under her eyes.  
Rhys covers her hands with his left one. It is all he can think off, no words coming into his head.  
Fiona continues: "I can't trust you while you have him in your head. But we have to work together. I want to know _everything_ : his plans, his thoughts, his opinions... You tell me everything you know." She states forcefully.  
Rhys lets out a short nervous laugh. "I d-don't think you w-want to know all." Fiona arches an eyebrow at him, urging him to elaborate. "Jack has a thing for you... big, dark, twisted, _kinky_ thing." Rhys swallows, finding it hard to look at her.  
"What?!" Fiona asks in a high-pitched voice, almost a squeak.   
Rhys nods shamefully. "That night he really enjoyed himself. And your reaction." He can swear he is glowing red now. But what's worse, when glances up at Fiona, he finds her in the similar state.  
"Fiona..." He calls her softly. "I know, you liked that, but..." He pauses and tries to start again. "I know Jack is one hell of a charmer, _I_ used to w-worship him... and partly because m-most Hyperion girls were all over him..." Rhys squeezes her fingers, seeming desperate. "I b-beg you, Fiona... whatever comes, stay away from Jack."  
Fiona smiles genuinely. "Rhys, there is nothing for you to worry about." She relaxes and begins to lie down.  
Rhys watches her suspiciously. He has to make his point clear. And he fears so much for her, after all he heard from Jack.  
"Wh-why? Do you mean you'd never or..." He musters up his courage. "...you'd already...." He can't voice his worst fear.  
Fiona covers her with the blanket and turns her back to him again, curling into comfortable position. Then her reply comes, muffled by the pillow:  
"I mean I'm interested in _someone else_."  
Rhys chooses to believe what he wants to. He promises himself he will never betray her trust again.  
Little does he know what awaits him on Helios.


	4. Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short epilogue to this story.

The Stranger left them again, bound back to back, silent, pissed at each other.  
After several minutes, Fiona gives in first. "It is all your fault." He can sense her glare in this accusing tone.  
"Oh?" He really wanted to keep his dignity, to ignore her, but this is too much. "I should inform you then, that the escape pod navigation correction algorithm was developed with my participation."   
There, he reigns in his victory. Fiona is silent. At first, it is a heavenly pleasure to see her unable to make an argument, but... What if it is just a better realisation of his earlier "ignore plan"?  
"You can't physically bear me being right." Rhys states, his best effort at sounding nonchalantly.  
Fiona makes a protesting sound. "The nature itself can't bear you being right. So, you never actually are." She delivers.  
"Haha, great humor... Then what? If I am never right, what I am? Left? Is this why you left me in Helios?" Rhys asks bitterly. She promised, she promised, his memory can't let it go.  
Fiona is silent anew, but this time it sounds differently. Is it her breathing? Or just his mind playing tricks?  
"Rhys." The first time she uses his name to address him since they met this Stranger. He feels her back strain against his own.  
"Rhys, I am sorry I left. This... isn't how it was supposed to be. This isn't right." She says sorrowfully.  
"No, it isn't!" Rhys replies forcefully, encouraged by her softening. "Nothing we got before was right! But it will be, Fiona, it will. Believe me." He adds in a caring tone.  
Fiona laughs quietly. "And why would I?"  
"Just....because. If we escape, we will do everything the right way, we won't fight, we won't argue, we will..." Rhys stops at the sound of a gun reloading. The Stranger returned.  
"What he says is true." Monotonous voice announces. "Because if the antecedent is false, the implication is true."  
Rhys just glares up at the masked man. This is one of the times he would give up almost everything to know who it is.  
"I hate this." Fiona grits her teeth. "What the hell does he mean?"  
"Uh, roughly, he means we won't escape." Rhys explains after waiting for the Stranger to do that himself, which he doesn't.  
"You will do it right, though. You're here to right your wrongs." Stranger adds.  
"Wrongs? Which wrongs?!" Fiona wonders in an almost desperate tone. She had done a lot, in her life.  
"Ceasing the existence of an innocent and beautiful soul." Stranger answers, and walks away.  
Rhys makes an undistinguished sound. "The only one I killed was Jack, so actually, this is _your_ fault." He remarks.  
Fiona wants to argue, but bites her lip. He had outplayed her, because she'd rather lose than call Jack innocent and beautiful. So she just elbows him, only half forcefully, though.  
"Shut up."  
Rhys laughs. He can live through this, being kidnapped in Pandoran desert, future unknown, but he can live. He is _right._  
Still, he is silent as she bid him. Fiona can't help noticing that.  
If only Rhys could see her gentle smile. If only Fiona could see his happy grin. Then, who knows what would happen ;)  
THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a first multi chapter work I ever finished. I am deeply grateful to you, my dear readers, for being with me that long. Till our next meeting!


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